The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to processes and/or apparatus for the treatment of milkfat. More particularly the present invention relates to processes and/or apparatus for the reduction of carotene and colour levels in milkfat.
To the present time the use of milkfat for some food products has needed to overcome the inherent problem that standard milkfat is yellow due to its colouring by carotene.
In order to bleach milkfat to make it suitable for use in food products, where the yellow colour would be unacceptable, typically processing equipment used for decolourising vegetable oil has been leased or hired out. This, however, has proved a very expensive operation in that such oil decolourisers are very expensive to run involving a lengthy process time for the milkfat. Typically utilising oil decolourisation equipment, the milkfat may have to be processed for up to eight hours. A further difficulty is that such oil decolourisation plants are typically, at least in New Zealand, geographically remote from the milkfat supply, involving the need to transport the milkfat to and from the decolourisation plant.